Recap: DOZE GREEN, ‘Arclandia Dreamstate’ @ Galerie Openspace Paris

ARCLANDIA DREAMSTATE is Doze Green’s second solo show at the Openspace Galleryafter ‘New Works’ as part of the ‘Graffuturism’ exhibition series in 2013. More than 20 works were exposed which allowed the public to rediscover and discover the work of Doze Green.
For over a year, Doze Green has been working on ARCLANDIA DREAMSTATE, an exhibition that shows his extensive palette. Two principal lines run throughout the body of his work for this exhibition. On one side he deepens his cosmological research and on the other hand he accentuates his political vision of the world and its malfunctioning.

A large exhibition hosted at the historical Bastille Design Center that will allow its visitors to take in the work of Doze Green in an immersive manner. To further articulate around the history of hip-hop and contemporary art, the directors of the Openspace Gallery invited two artists to expose their work next to Doze Green. Mode2 and Taku Obataare presented artworks that highlight the body in movement.

DOZE, TELESTE

Mode2

Taku Obata

Taku Obata

“ I do oppose the socio-economic psychopathic, fascist practices of world governing. The world is changing the Birth-pangs of an awakened existence is dawning. ” DOZE GREEN – interview given to Graffiti Art Magazine, October 2015

Born in 1964, Doze Green began painting on New York subway trains in the 1970s. He rapidly distinguished himself through his highly recognizable graphic style exhibiting his work as early as 1981 while still a very young man. His creations were displayed at the Fun Gallery, the Fashion Moda and at Tony Shafrazi alongside Keith Haring and Rammelzzee who became his very good friend and mentor. He also gave break dance performances, another emerging discipline next to graffiti, obtaining success as a member of the famous Rock Steady Crew. He appeared in the legendary documentaries Style Wars and Wild Style. Thus, over several decades, Doze Green stands out as a legendary figure of hip-hop culture.

Without, however, confining himself, the New York artist is also interested in certain fields such as comparative religions drawing connections between the various myths of different cultures, examining the human soul’s share of irrational and magic. Thus, his portraits of both individuals and groups take on meaning and become true pantheons of deities. This vision portrayed on canvas through his unique approach gives him an important place on the American art scene. From the mid-1990s, he regularly exhibited at the 111 Minna Gallery in San Francisco, and then at Jonathan LeVine in New York when it first opened in 2005. In the 2000s, he also displayed his art in Italy, the Netherlands and France, leaving a deep impression on a new generation of European artists seeking spirituality and new artistic forms.

At the beginning of the 2010s, Doze Green moved to California up into the Gold Country. He built a self-sufficient farm there to lead a life of food autarky. This new life, disconnected from the urbane world and nourished daily by nature’s cycles, provided him a new breath of inspiration.
His artistic production bursts with energy as witnessed in late 2014 in his Out of Knowhere exhibition at Jonathan LeVine. The exhibit was praised by the press and backed by collectors such as Swizz Beatz, who acquired several works for his Dean Collection. In 2015, he participated in the The Bridges of Graffiti exhibition, along with Futura, Boris Tellegen and Mode 2, within the highly institutional framework of the Venice Biennale. Indeed, beyond his historical legacy, Doze Green constantly renews his art, demonstrating that he is one of today’s most important artists on the world’s contemporary art scene.

« Everyday, morning, noon & night, we copied graffiti SprayCan art. We were heavily influenced by Doze’s Omega piece. That one really made us think about approaching our work differently. » Os Gêmeos« Devious Doze fancy footwork, the dopest b-boy, Yes! But Doze was always going a step further in making people laugh or doing something over the top. » Futura